Nellis
by ZenaMillion
Summary: A rouge scavenger, whose lived in the wastelands all his life, by the name of Alen Svay is on the hunt for supplies. Though, when he comes across a rather sketchy road, he's intrigued. Even though his gut and various signs are screaming at him to turn back, he continues on. Little did he know this small settlement would change his life forever.
1. Chapter 1

Nellis

_'God damn it!'_ Alen spat in his head, running away literally for his life as bomb after bomb exploded behind him. "FUCK!" he screamed in pain as shrapnel from one of the bomb shells collided with his right arm. Alen could hear the sickening snap as his bone broke in half. His groans of pain only grew louder with each passing second. Though he was determined to get out of the line of fire of the onslaught of bombs.

He reached the fence where the old gambler named George told him he would be safe. But, a problem. There was a ditch, a large one. "Son of a bitch." Alen snarled. He didn't have much time to think as the bombs were getting closer. Oh how he was going to regret this. He jumped and slid down the mound. Just when he thought he would get off easy, he tumbled over and landed straight on his broken arm at the bottom.

He let out an agonizing scream of pain and he gripped his broken arm so tight, his knuckles turned white from the pressure. To focus on something other than the pain, he bit his bottom lip. Though he bit it too hard and the metallic taste of blood entered his mouth. Then he noticed something, the explosions stopped. He was in the clear. Less than gracefully, he took the knapsack off his back and fumbled through it, taking out a steady. Ideally they were used to keep your aim steady hence the name, but Alen figured it could work just as well as a splint for his arm.

He threw the knapsack away from him carelessly, not even bothering to close it before he did, so some contents spilled out, and he took the bar out of the bottle and placed it against his wounded arm. He then took the cloth that was also in the bottle and ripped it in half, tying the bar against his arm at the wrist, then at the elbow. He completely disregarded the bottle and threw it back over the mound.

After what seemed like long, agonizing, painful hours, the pain finally died down long enough that he could inject a stimpack into his arm to numb the pain more.

"Damn..." he sighed. "I can't catch a break, can I?" He stood up and collected the items that spilled everywhere, put the knapsack on his back again, and continued down the path along the fence. _'What the hell am I doing? These people were trying to fucking blow me to pieces and I'm going to knock on their front door? I guess I'm not the smartest person sometimes.' _Alen thought to himself. Though, what where they going to do? Surely they weren't stupid enough to fire a damn bomb at him when he was right in their face. Right?

"Halt!" a man yelled, Alen guessed him to be a guard, but his eyes widened when the guard pointed a loaded rocket launcher at him. "Hands up and tell me who the hell you are!" the guard demanded.

Alen put his left hand up and it angered the guard.

"I said put both up!"

"In case you can't tell by the fucking splint on my right arm, it's kind of shattered, so I can't put it up, you dumb ass." Alen snarled.

"You're calling me a dumb ass? You're the one threatening a man with a _**rocket launcher**_." the guard growled.

"What are you going to do? Fuckin' shoot me and kill us both? Then you _would_ be a dumb ass!"

The guard shifted uncomfortably. Alen had a point. The man lowered the weapon. "How the hell did you get here? He had you locked in our sights the whole time! _**No one**_is that fast!"

Alen grinned. "You underestimate me."

"Guard, stand down. I'll handle the savage." a female voice said. When Alen turned his head to the left, the female that caught his eye was rather attractive. She had long black hair in a pony tail, a few stands of hair loose, her face was a bit dirty but that was to be expected in the wastelands, and she had blue eyes from what Alen could tell in the dark of the night. Nevertheless, no matter how attractive she was, he merely raised an eyebrow. "You there," she said.

"Something wrong, princess? I'm kind of in the middle of something." Alen said, his left hand still up and once he noticed it was, he put it back down to his side.

The woman narrowed his eyes at him. "Call me princess again and I'll put a bullet between your eyes, savage." she snarled.

"A woman after my own heart." Alen faked a dreamy sigh. "What's your name, if you don't mind me askin'" he grinned.

The woman glared at Alen for a few more moments before answering. "I'm Raquel, master-at-arms for the Nellis homeland. Mother Pearl, our eldest, wishes to speak with you."

"Oh _this_ should be fun." Alen said, still grinning.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

"Uhh... Mother Pearl?" Alen called out upon entering the small house. _'The hell kind of a name is "Mother Pearl" anyway?' _Alen thought.

"Yes child, please come in." an older female voice rang. Alen stepped into the building and shut the door behind him. He walked past what seemed to be a kitchen and then to his left, an elderly woman sat on a couch. That must have been Pearl. Alen's arm was starting to kill him, but unfortunately, he didn't have any more stimpacks so he was just going to have to suck it up for now. Pearl looked like she was in her mid sixties. She had silver hair in a ridiculous hair style in Alen's opinion, but there's nothing he can really do about it, short of insulting an old lady. "Please, sit." she said, gesturing to the couch across from her.

Alen hesitated for a bit before he complied and sat down, wincing as his arm decided to disagree with that decision. "I'd hate to ask, but you wouldn't so happen to have any stimpacks, would you? As you can see, my arm's not in the greatest shape, as you can obviously tell. I suppose I have your guards to thank for that." he mumbled the last bit.

Pearl just laughed and stood up. "I believe I do somewhere. Wait right here." she said, then started searching through various drawers.

"Heh, believe you me, I couldn't move even if I wanted to because of the pain. My shattered arm isn't the only thing that hurts, I can tell you that." Alen said.

"Humor me, what else hurts?" Pearl asked, now searching through her medicine cabinets.

"Let's see, my arm, my head, my leg, my chest, and my pride." Alen explained, taking the stimpack that was handed to him.

"I'm sorry but I don't think I have anything for wounded pride." Pearl laughed. "Though it's not common in the least bit for an outsider to reach the gates of Nellis, let alone enter."

"Well you don't exactly roll out the Red Carpet." Alen scoffed and rolled up his right sleeve, injecting the medicine into his veins. He felt the healing effects almost immediately and sighed in spite of himself. The rest of the pain from his head, leg and chest washed away. Except for his pride. Though he can handle that later.

"And with good reason. There has never been an outsider inside of Nellis. And I've been here since I was barely a woman." Pearl told him.

"You said you wished to talk to me. Mind explaining to me why that is?" Alen asked, cutting to the chase. He had little time and desire for idle chit chat.

"I wanted you to see me because I see something special in you, chi-"

"Alen."

"I'm sorry?"

"My name. It's Alen. Alen Svay."

"Oh! You're the young man whom was shot in the head, cheated death, and went after the man that did it! You were all over the news for a while. Plus, the fact that you came all the way from Goodsprings is impressive as well." Pearl laughed.

"Seems to be the only word about me." Alen scoffed. He supposed it was good and bad that no one knew who he was.

"Though back to what I was saying, there's something special about you. I can sense it. You have a good, warm heart under that cold, rough exterior." she explained, which caused Alen to raise an eyebrow. "I have a favor to ask of you, outsider." she stated. "I ask you to help my people in any way you can, and in return..." she looked hesitant for a moment. "In return we will accept you as more than an outsider."

Alen had to think for a minute. This could be both good or bad. On one hand, given these people learn to accept him, he could scavenge around the area without a bomb being fired up his ass, but on another hand, there was a possibility that they could keep him in Nellis forever. Though, perhaps it wouldn't be horrible. Benny was dead so Alen really didn't have any goals. Either way, the odds were leaning in his favor on either side. Even _if_ they did keep him here, he could adapt to their ways and maybe become a leader, raise an army, create their own government. A force to be reckoned with. A force that could take on that of New Vegas! This very thought made Alen smirk.

"Deal."

"So I go in there and shoot a bunch of giant ants, kill their nest, and turn on some generators? Easy enough." Alen laughed.

"Don't get too sure of yourself, savage." Raquel spat. "We lost a few of our people and more are still hurt."

"I survived you lot tryin' to blow me to pieces, so I think I can handle a bunch of oversized ants." Alen rolled his eyes.

"You got lucky, and that's it." she snarled. "You were cowering in the destroyed buildings."

"Well tell me, sweetheart, how the fuck else was I supposed to get to the gate?"

"You _weren't_ supposed to at all! That's why we were firing bombs at you, you moron!" Raquel growled, now in Alen's face.

"Ya might want to sit down, sweetheart. I'm not a pleasant person when I'm pissed off." Alen narrowed his eyes.

"Do something about it, scumbag. Because if you do, those bots will be on you faster than flies on a pile of shit." Raquel shot back, pointing to the two Mister Gutsys bellow.

"Whatsa matter? Can't take me on yourself? Need the help of pathetic robots to take me down?" Alen asked, his eyes filled with nothing but hatred. "What are you afraid of?"

"I'm afraid I'm going to punch you so hard your fucking jaw's going to fly off your smug, disgusting face!" Raquel said. "Just get your stupid ass down in the factory and make yourself useful." she spat, turning sharply away from Alen. "One more thing, I'll be laughing when they drag your broken, bloodied ass out from down there."

Alen chuckled. "Sounds to me you just want me to die."

"Don't get my hopes up." she glared. "Just get goin'."

Alen gave her a half-assed wave and jumped down from the large platform that they were standing on, and landed on his feet. He guessed it wasn't a good idea to jump because he could have landed on his broken arm. But hey, sometimes he wasn't very smart.

"Also," Raquel called out whilst Alen was walking away. "The ants must be eating gunpowder or something, because they exploded when we used flamethrowers and energy weapons!"

* * *

Alen shook his head. "That's just fucking _fantastic_." he growled and rolled his eyes, then continued walking.

The atmosphere in the factory was... unsettling. Dead bodies about, the smell of death and dried blood was sickening and caused Alen to twist his face in disgust. Upon entering, he was immediately attacked by two ants. Two quick bullets to their heads ended them, though.

Alen walked through the factory carefully, the metal grates making pinging sounds under his feet after each step. He was uneasy to say the least. He wasn't fond of the silence, the only noise piercing his ears was the slight humming of the "sleeping" machines and the scuttling of the ants below the catwalks.

"Oh of _course_." Alen snarled as his eyes locked onto the broken path in front of him. He took a few steps back, took a deep breath, and started running. He then jumped, clearing the gap and landed on the other side, though the impact of Alen's body on the old metal caused more of the catwalk to break off and crash to the pavement under him. "Son of a bitch." he growled. He then clutched his arm and winced. "God..." he winced again. "damn it."

He eventually was able to let the pain pass and pushed on, his .99 mm pistol firm in his grip. As he advanced on, the factory grew darker, making him more uneasy. "Where the hell are these God forsaken generators?" he growled. He looked over the railing of the catwalk but it was pitch black, bar the blinking lights from the various machines. He found a staircase and went down it, hoping to find the generators that needed to be turned on. It eventually became so dark, he had to turn on his Pip-Boy's flashlight.

An ant had decided to take Alen by surprise and leap at him when the flashlight shone on it. Alen yelped in surprise as the ant jumped at him, knocking the gun out of his hand, sending it skidding into the darkness.

"You wanna play, you son of a bitch?" Alen snarled. "Then let's play." he ran towards ant, driving his fist into its head, a greenish yellow goo engulfing his hand. The ant fell dead at his feet, causing him to smirk. Then, something was wrong. He could hear more of them, a lot more. He frantically looked for his gun, something caught his leg, went through his armor, and dug into his flesh. He let out a pained yell and kicked whatever had him in their hold. His foot cracked against a skull of a giant ant and it let him go. Another jumped on his back and bit into his neck, causing Alen to let out a scream. He reached up and ripped the mutant bug from his neck and threw it to the ground, then stomped on its head. He felt the blood running from the back of his neck, and it seemed to make the army of beasts even more excited.

"Well..." Alen said, shining his flashlight around him, only to see more than at least thirty of them surrounding him. "Shit." At that, the ants all charged at once, biting onto different parts of his body to try and tear him apart. He let out various pained screams and tried desperately to rip the beasts off of him. He was losing blood at an alarming rate and he knew he had to get away. Despite the monstrous pain this would cause, Alen used both hands to pull the monstrosities from his body and he was too focused on the pain from the ant bites, that he couldn't even feel the pain in his arm. Oh how he would feel it later, though.

He had finally gotten free enough to tear himself away from the rest of them and make a run for it, not even caring about his lost gun. He made a beeline for the stairs to the catwalks, limping terribly. He then began to feel the intense pain in his right arm, causing him to groan in pain as he ran. He bolted up the stairs and across the catwalks.

_'I have to get the fuck out of here!'_ he yelled in his head. He turned his head to see that the bastards were close behind, looking more pissed now that their prey was getting away. Alen started to panic, because if they caught him again, there was no way he was going to get away the next time... "Shit shit shit!" Alen yelled, coming across the broken walkway again. He knew full well what he needed to do and he couldn't stop or else he would be devoured. Once he got to the edge, he jumped, once again clearing the gap, but just barely. He landed on the other side less than gracefully so he ended up on his back, letting out a noise that was a mix between scream and groan. He looked up to see the ants on the other side, hesitant to make the jump. Alen quickly stood up and backed further away.

"Heh..." his breathing was heavy and he couldn't see out of his right eye because blood was seeping into it. "Looks like we've reached a stale-mate." he chuckled. Oh but how he was wrong. One by one the ants started to jump over to the same platform and continued the chase. "Oh for fuck's sake!" Alen yelled and continued running. "You know what? _**FUCK**_ the world right now, man!" he shouted. Luckily for him, the exit was in slight, but just barely. He continued to run as fast as he could, his limp slowing him down substantially. But unfortunately for him, a fire worker had him in its sights, and shot a blast at Alen, hitting him dead on in the back. The gunpowder they had been eating made the fire explosive, and the blast shot him forward a great distance. Ignoring the pain, he rolled onto his back, taking this opportunity to retrieve a grenade from his belt.

He removed the pin and threw it right into the crowd of ants. "Smile, you motherfu-" he was interrupted by the large explosion, the force throwing him back again. He smacked up against a wall, a grunt expelling him has be made impact, then another when he fell to the floor. "Son of a bitch..." he groaned. "That wasn't smart..." In the heat of the moment, he had blatantly forgot about the warning Raquel told him about. He felt like such an idiot. Though, it did work. All the ants were gone and Alen was left lying in a growing pool of his own blood.

It took all the strength he had left to push himself up into a standing position and look around to see where he was. It would seem fortune decided to smile upon him, as the blast had thrown him into the exit. With heavy breath, he opened the heavy metal door and walked through, closing it behind him. The chill of the night air paraded its way through Alen's lungs, giving him a new found strength. Or so he thought, because after one step, he collapsed to the cold hard pavement, blood pooling around him once more. He could feel himself slipping and he knew it was over.

Despite this, a grin spread across his lips and he laughed extremely weakly. "So... this is how I'm gonna go, eh? Got shot in the head and buried alive, yet a bunch of fuckin' giant ants kill me." He paused for quite a while, his breath growing shallow, his eyes closing slowly. He chuckled again. "How... how ironic..." he took one last breath and closed his eyes.

Then his world faded into embracing darkness.


	3. Chapter 3

_**I'm absolutely FLOORED by all the attention this is getting! This morning I woke up to lean someone had added me to their favorite authors, added my story to their favorites, and added Nellis to their alert subscription! What a wondrous thing to wake up to and it really made my day! Thank you SO much Death88400!**_

_**Also, sorry I've been slow with posting. I've had writer's block lately and it just doesn't want to give up. -Sigh-**_

_**Also, in case you are confused with the way I described Veronica's appearance, I based it off a picture I found on google, as I can never get a clear look at her features in game. (I play on Xbox :c) **_

_**. . . . . . . . . **_

Chapter Three

Alen groaned as consciousness returned to him. His body was so stiff and sore, whenever he tried to move, pain shot through the entirety of his being. It even hurt to open his eyes, so he kept them closed. He couldn't stop groaning however, but given he was in so much pain he couldn't help it. Where was he, anyway? There was no way he was outside or else he would feel a breeze.

"Either you're awake or you're dying. I can never tell these days." a rather cheery female voice said. Once their voice hit Alen's ears, it made his head pulse as their voice was a bit too high.

"I'm not entirely sure myself. I _am_ awake, but I _could_ be dying, because I sure as hell feel like it." Alen said, his voice weak.

"Yeah, I've been there before!" the voice laughed. "The doctor isn't here right now, so I guess I'm gonna have 'ta preform the operation."

Alen eyes flew open and he sat up, pushing himself against the bed frame. "Fuck no! Keep that medical shit away from me!" he yelled, his body sending ripples of pain in protest for his actions. "Touch me with _one_ needle and you and I will _both_ regret it!" he spat.

The woman laughed. "Oh relax, would ya? I was kidding! I got you to open your eyes, at least." she winked. Well she was right about that.

Alen glared at the woman. Though as much as she did annoy him at the moment, she was rather pretty. She had slightly straight black hair that went a little past her ears, brown eyes, and a slender frame. The armor she was wearing was a mix of grayish brown and purple, metal protecting her chest, knees, forearms and shoulders. She also had a device on her right arm that intrigued Alen greatly.

Nevertheless, Alen shook it off and continued his glare. "Who the hell are you?" he growled.

"You're not a very happy person, are ya?" she asked, sitting down in a chair that was next to Alen's bed.

"Just answer-"

"All right all right, I'm getting' there, don't get your knickers in a twist." she waved her hand dismissively. "I'm Veronica Santangelo and I've been around here for a while."

"And where, pray tell, exactly is '_here_'?" Alen asked, his harsh gaze never softening.

"An NCR trading post." Veronica shrugged. "Well, it's not completely NCR, it caters to the Gun Runners and the Brotherhood of Steel."

"Brotherhood of Steel, huh?" Alen laughed.

"What? Do you know anything about them?" Veronica asked.

Alen shrugged. "Not really. As long as you don't piss them off or you have some kind of fancy energy weapon they want they don't really do much."

"And that's all you know?" Veronica asked, her voice sort of pleading.

"As much as I care to know." Alen said. "How the hell did I get here anyway?"

"A team went off scavenging and found your body outside of Boomer territory then brought you back here as you were still barely breathing. You didn't look good, though. Then again, it's not smart to piss off the Boomers. What were ya thinkin' anyway?" Veronica questioned.

"The Boomers didn't do this, a bunch of fucking giant ants did." Alen growled. He then looked at his broken arm which was now in a cast. "Though they did do _this._" he sighed. "Those bastards sent me to die and I know it." he snarled.

"_What?_ You were in there?!" Veronica gasped.

"In Nellis? Yeah I was. I was scavenging in the area and they started firing bombs at me."

"You mean you went into their territory despite the signs telling you _not_ to?"

"Yes, but I-"

"Were being an idiot?"

"God damn it, let me-"

"So despite the signs, your gut, your instincts, and most likely a ton of people, you went right in anyway thinking nothing would happen?"

"Yes, but it wasn't an immediate decision! I stood there for at least three hours trying to-"

"You're really not very smart, are you? I mean seriously, how stu—"

"FOR THE LOVE OF FUCK LET ME SPEAK!" Alen shouted.

"All right all right, jeez." Veronica rolled her eyes.

"God damn..." he sighed. "As I was _trying_ to say, once I realized they were firing at me I ran for it, taking cover in destroyed houses and I eventually made it to the gate, knowing full well they wouldn't shoot because if they did, not only would _I_ be blown to pieces, but so would _they_."

"Makes sense."

"Then some woman comes up to the gate, after I had a heated discussion with the guard, of course, and she tells me their elder wanted to speak with me. So I was let in, went to the elder's barracks and I saw what she wanted."

"What _did_ she want?"

"She wanted me to help "her people". They're all nuts if you ask m-" Alen was interrupted by the entrance door being opened, a man in a white coat walking in.

"Oh good, you're awake. I was starting to think you weren't going to come back." he said.

"Once again I am underestimated." Alen sighed. He stood up from the bed he was sitting on, ripping out the IV and heart monitor clip, causing a steady drone to fill the room. "I thank you for your medical assistance," he stared. He took his black fedora and put it on his head and walked towards the door. He then took out a handful of caps and placed them on a counter next to the exit. "but I'll be leaving now. Things to do, places to go and all that."

"W-wait! Son, you were extremely injured! You were even dead! You can't just leave now, what if you need further treatment?!" the doctor yelled.

"It's not the first time I've cheated death." Alen chuckled and left, closing the door behind him.

. . . . . .

"I can't catch a damn break, can I?" he sighed whilst he was walking through the wastelands back towards the Boomers' territory. He ran a tired hand through his hair and that's when he noticed the bandage that encircled his forehead. "Evidently, I cannot." he growled. He checked his Pip-Boy to see where he was and if he was going in the right direction. After he learned which way to go, he began walking again. He had a few "words" for the people of Nellis.

"Hey!" Alen heard a female voice call from a distance behind him. "Hey wait up!" when Alen turned around, he saw Veronica running after him.

"Oh for fuck's sake." he rolled his eyes. "What do you want?" he asked harshly when she caught up with him. Perhaps more harshly than he intended, but he didn't really care.

Veronica, not even faltering in her breath, made her way to Alen's side and walked with him. "It's boring over there, and if you've died twice and have come back from it, then you obviously lead a pretty interesting life." she laughed.

"What are you implying?" Alen narrowed his eyes at her.

"Do I gotta spell it out for ya? I want to join you on your adventures." Veronica said.

Alen just laughed.

"Something funny?" Veronica growled.

"You want to accompany me on my ventures when you have no weapons, no fighting experience, and no skill?" Alen questioned, a coy smile on his lips.

"I have a weapon." Veronica said, pointing to the device on her arm. "What do you think this thing is?"

"An old shitty version of a Pip-Boy was my first guess." Alen shrugged. "But as you say it's a weapon I suppose my guess was wrong."

"No shit." Veronica rolled her eyes. "And I have experience. More than you possibly know. But c'mon! I'll show you what this baby can do." Veronica said, grabbing Alen by the hand, leading him towards a wall of a destroyed building. The fact she was holding Alen's hand made him feel strange. It was so... alien to him. Nevertheless, he dismissed the feeling, because he really didn't care, and let the overactive female lead him to the building to "prove herself".

She let go of his hand and started fiddling with the dials of the device on her wrist. "Okaaay! Time to shine!" Veronica cheered.

Alen crossed his arms, obviously less than impressed. "What's it gonna do? Shoot lasers? Yeah, because _that's_ original." he rolled his eyes.

"Nuh-uh! Watch." she turned to face the wall. The device started to expel steam and Veronica put her arm back and balled her hand into a fist.

Alen slowly put his arms down and took a step closer, his eyes slowly widening. "What are you-" she started to thrust her arm forward. "NO WAIT-" Alen lunged forward to stop her, but it was too late. Her hand was through the brick wall in the matter of seconds. All Alen could do was stand there, dumbstruck. "Whoa..." was all he could choke out. To say he wasn't impressed, would have been a bullshit lie.

"Cool, right?" Veronica laughed. "Yeah I got it a while ago when I- Hey! Where the hell are you going?!" she yelled when she noticed Alen was walking away.

Alen stopped and looked over his shoulder. "If you want to come along, then hurry your ass up. I don't want to wait here until bloatflies eat out my eyes." he said, then continued walking.

"Cool!" Veronica chimed and ran after him. When she caught up she asked, "So what's your name?"

"Alen. Alen Svay."

"Well, _Alen_, I believe this is the start of a beautiful partnership!" she smirked.


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey guys, sorry for the slow update! ^_^'' I've been busy with school and lately Fallout 3 has been consuming my attention *_* But today I told myself I WOULD post a chapter for you guys c: Sorry for the long wait.**

Chapter Four

. . . .

"Wait wait, how did you end up out of the Boomer territory when you were outside of the generator building?" Veronica asked as they walked through the wastelands.

Alen shrugged. "Don't know. I guess they dragged me out of their little establishment and threw me outside the territory so they wouldn't have to deal with scavengers."

"Makes sense, I suppose. Though it's a bit... brutal." Veronica said.

Alen's hand went to his head and he rubbed it. His entire body ached and he wanted nothing more than to sleep, but he knew that wasn't an option.

"You okay?" Veronica asked.

"Huh?" he took his hand away from his head and looked at her. "Oh. Yeah I'm fine. Just a headache is all." She then scoffed at him. "What?" he narrowed his eyes.

"Congratulations, you managed to say a sentence without making a snide comment." Veronica laughed.

"Oh bite me." Alen growled.

"Aw come on! Don't get so upset all the time!" she said, shoving him slightly. "Why are you always so tense? You gotta lighten up a bit."

"When you've wondered the wastelands for sixteen years by yourself you're not exactly a 'pleasant' person." Alen told her, putting his free hand in his pocket.

"Eh, good point I guess." Veronica shrugged then started fiddling with the device on her wrist.

"God damn what I wouldn't give for a cigarette." Alen grumbled. "The craving is _killing_ me."

"Seriously? Out of all things could be addicted to, you're addicted to... cigarettes?" Veronica asked, clearly stunned.

Alen raised his eyebrow. "Yeah, so?"

"Nothing... it's just that some people are addicted to Psycho, or Jet, or hell, even Med-X!"

"I never found a use for that shit." Alen sighed. "It only leads to turning good people into cold blooded murderers hoping to get a quick fix."

"Very true."

"While those addicted to cigarettes just get snippy when they haven't had one in a while."

"Which explains why you've been _such_ a delight." Veronica grinned.

Alen rolled his eyes. "Pretty much." He shrugged then. "I actually become pretty mellow when I've had one."

"I'll keep a look out for one, then." Veronica winked, causing Alen to laugh slightly. "Holy crap you _smiled_! I didn't think you could even _do_ that!" this tore the smile off Alen's face.

Worth it.

…...

"Dear _GOD_!" Veronica groaned. "Where _is_ this place?! Around the corner of Satan's ass?!"

This caused Alen to laugh again.

"It's not funny! My feet hurt!" she complained.

"You're the one who wanted to come with me." he pointed out with a shrug.

"Yeah bit I didn't think this 'Nellis' place was going to be so far that it would make my feet hurt so much, that it feels like I'm walking on _spikes_!" Veronica exclaimed.

Alen chuckled and stopped walking. "Fine fine, we can stop and take a break here."

"Thank God!" Veronica said, then collapsed to the ground, sending dust into the air.

Alen took the duffel bag off of his back and placed it on the ground next to him. He then sat down and opened it, running the hand that wasn't in a sling through the many materials that resided in it. "Thanks for grabbin' this for me. Would have been pissed if I didn't have it and then had to drag myself all the way back to get the damn thing." he then found what he was looking for. A bottle of purified water. He opened it and drank it down almost halfway. After he was done, he lightly tapped Veronica's head with the bottle, causing her to turn her head and look at him. "Want some?" he asked.

"Oh! Cool, thanks!" Veronica chimed and sat up. Taking the bottle from Alen, she drank from it, finishing it off. Alen didn't really care though, he had a few more bottles in the bag. "Not exactly cold, but I'm not complainin'." she laughed.

"Mhm..." Alen hummed in response. He lay back, putting his head on the duffel bag, he took off his hat and lay it on his chest, his hand gripping it so it wouldn't blow away in the wind.

"So I'm been meaning to ask ya'," Veronica said, laying back again herself. "what do you plan to _do_ when you get back to Nellis?" she asked.

Alen put his good arm behind his head and shrugged, which caused him pain in his right arm but he really didn't care at this point. Everything he did caused pain to course through him. "What do you think? I'm gonna go up there and put fifteen percent of my foot up someone's ass."

"Smart." Veronica rolled her eyes. "Because that's always worked out for everyone."

"Well what the hell do you _want_ me to do?" Alen growled.

"Let it go! Move on, forget it happened!" she told him.

"Uh-uh! I lost my gun in that God forsaken place and I ain't leaving 'til I get it back!" he stated.

"You've _got_ to be kidding me. You have a bunch of other weapons in that damned bag of yours! Why do you need to go back _just _to get one?"

"Because that particular gun has special meaning to me." Alen said, looking away from her.

"Seriously?" Veronica said, her voice sounded less than impressed. "Special meaning... with a _gun_. How is that even possible, might I ask?"

Alen stayed silent.

"Uh hello? Earth to Alen? I asked a question, you know."

Alen removed his arm from the back of his head and took his hat off his chest. He stood up then placed the hat on his head and slung the duffel bag over his shoulder. "Let's go. We've sat here long enough." he growled lightly and started walking.

"Hm..." Veronica hummed as she stood up, brushing off the dust from her armor. "Mysterious man, he is... _This_ should be interesting."

…...

"Hey! Look!" a man shouted, and pointed in front of him.

The man in the other tower looked through his scope, and what he saw made his eyes widen. "Holy shit! Matt, it's the outsider! He's alive?!"

The other man, named Matt, leaned over the railing of the tower he was in. "Ay! One of you lot go and get Mother Pearl! Tell her the guards Matt and Smithy found something!" he yelled. A woman at the base of the towers nodded and ran off. "I can't believe it! There's just no killing this guy!"

"You're telling me!" Smithy called back. "Should we shoot at him?"

"Don't you dare, or I swear I will kill you two myself." Raquel growled as she walked up the ramp to Matt's tower.

"Yes ma'am..." Matt mumbled and looked away from his superior, clearly disappointed that he couldn't blow someone up.

A few minutes passed and Mother Pearl made her way up Smithy's tower. "What is going on?" she asked. She was handed a scope and she looked through it. What was seen, shocked her. "Oh my! It's him!" she exclaimed.

"What do you want us to do?" Smithy asked.

"Hold your fire." Pearl ordered.

"Hey, he's got someone else with him!" Matt called from the other tower. "I got her in my sights!"

"I said hold your fire!" Pearl demanded.

"Outsider approaching!" the woman whom found Mother Pearl shouted.

"Keep the gates closed! We don't know what this guy will do!" Matt yelled.

"_**AY**_!" Alen's voice boomed into their ears and gathered their attention. "Remember me?" he snarled as he walked up to the gate, Veronica following close behind. "All I have to ask is, what the _fuck_?!"

Mother Pearl walked down the tower and to the gate, Mitt, Smithy, and Raquel following behind. "Alen I-"

"You sent me to die!" Alen interrupted.

"You _said_ you could handle it." Raquel scoffed.

"Don't start with me, _sunshine_, I'm in no mood." Alen growled.

"Alen, please! It was just a misunderstanding!" Pearl said.

"Oh yeah, it'll be a _big_ misunderstanding when I launch my foot up someone's ass!" Alen shouted.

"Alen! Enough!" Veronica yelled. "I'm sorry, he's just a little upset."

"A l-little upset?! I'M PISSED! These maniacs tried to KILL me!" he fumed.

"Alen! Shut up, damn it!" Veronica told him and covered his mouth with her hand, causing him to glare at her and growl. "Don't mind him. Can we come in and talk things out?"

"As long as he keeps his hands to himself and himself only." Raquel spat.

"I promise." Veronica said, Alen in turn grunting in confusion and farrowing his eyebrow. Veronica stood in front of him at this point, her hand still over his mouth. "Listen to me," she kept her voice quiet. "if you want to go back and get your stupid gun, then you need to be calm and collected, not be threatening and an ass!" she then removed her hand from his mouth. "I know you're pissed and I understand why, but you _have_ to calm down, okay?" she asked.

Alen looked at her, his eyebrow still raised. She was talking to him as if she had known him for years, when the truth is they've only known each other for a few hours. Even though her actions confused him, he nodded and agreed.

"Good." she smiled. "Now," she then turned to face the people of Nellis. "he's calm now, so can you let us so we can talk?"

Pearl exchanged uneasy glances with the others, then nodded. "Open the gates."

…...

Alen was, once again, in Mother Pearl's barracks, but he refused to sit down. One reason being he was being stubborn. Though mostly it was because his body had decided to work against him and go stiff, causing pain to ripple through his body at every movement. So instead, he stood there, his free hand in his pocket and a look of indifference on his face.

"Now," Pearl said, taking a seat on the couch. "tell me what happened. Raquel, you'll get your turn." she put up a hand to silence the woman. "Alen, explain.

Veronica shot him a look of "Don't blow up". Alen disregarded her, of course, but he did decide to be "pleasant"

Alen took a breath and started. "I began to look around the base after we talked for those who needed my help with anything, and after wandering around a bit, Raquel was the first to ask for my help." he explained, his voice surprisingly calm. "She had told me that ants had made homage in the generator building on the outskirts of the base. She told me to go in, clear out the ants and their nests and turn the generators on. Unfortunately, I had not realized just how many ants there were until was too late." he finished.

Pearl looked at Raquel. "Raquel..."

"He _said_ he could handle them!" she shouted in defense.

"Regardless, you know how dangerous it is down there! You should not have let him go alone." Pearl said.

"He's _just_ and outsider! It's not like his death would matter anyway!" Raquel spat. "He probably doesn't even have family that would give a shit!"

Alen balled his hand into a fist and clenched his jaw. "Take it back." he growled lowly.

"Make me, outsi-"

"I SAID TAKE IT BACK!" he roared, taking Raquel by surprise.

She stepped away a bit. "Sorry..."

"Alen, why don't you... step outside for a minute? Here," Veronica snatched a cigarette from Raquel's coat pocket.

"Hey!"

"Oh get over yourself." Veronica rolled her eyes and handed Alen the cigarette and started pushing him towards the door. "Now, you go outside."

…...

"Tsk." Alen scoffed when the door was closed behind him. He studied the cigarette Veronica had given him. Why was she looking out for him so much? It's not like he deserved it, he was a selfish, self-centered, close minded ass. Those weren't exactly 'loved' traits found in people. It was like they've known each other all their lives. She knew when he was about to snap, when he wanted a cigarette more than anything, and she knew how to calm him down...

It _had_ to be more than a simple coincidence.

Right?


	5. Chapter 5

_**Two chapters in two days? :o What sorcery is this?! Haha, I hope you guys like this chapter, because the main plot is FINALLY revealed! ;D**_

Chapter Five

…...

Dear Christ it felt good to smoke a cigarette after so long. It was all Alen needed at the moment, and it was everything he ever hoped for.

"How's the cigarette your friend stole from me?" Raquel scoffed as she made her way to wanderer's side, leaning against the metal building.

Alen shrugged. "I didn't see you leave."

"I left the barracks about ten minutes ago."

"Really? I didn't see you come out of this door."

"I came out the back, okay?" Raquel snapped.

Alen did nothing but take a drag off his cigarette. To be honest, he had no idea why Raquel left the barracks or even why she was talking to him. He had no love for the woman, she was a bitch. Though he supposed he wasn't one to talk.

"Unbelievable." Raquel jeered, Alen raising an eyebrow at her in turn. "You go from being a silver tongued pain in the ass to a damn mute. What gives?" she asked.

"Why do you care?" Alen said, his voice tired. He really was in no mood to talk. Especially to someone who rubbed him the wrong way. "In case you haven't noticed, I really don't have a desire nor a need to socialize right now."

"I _don't_ care. I'm just curious." Raquel said, crossing her arms and looking away from the man.

"Whatever." Alen rolled his eyes. "I just mellow out when I've smoked is all." he told her, took another drag, and flicked off the growing ash.

"Are you gonna pay me back for that cigarette?"

"Considering how you sent me to die, I'd think we're even." Alen glared.

"I _didn't_ send you to your death!"

"Oh really? So you just conveniently forgot that Pearl told you to send someone with me?"

"... Fine fine, _touché._" Raquel sighed. "You know, you're kind of an ass."

"How _kind_ of you to notice." Alen said sarcastically.

"But we aren't so different. I mean, we're both hard-heads, both extremely bitter to those around us and-" Raquel was cut off when Veronica stepped outside and started walking.

"Come on, Alen! We've got some giant ants to kill!" she chimed and continued.

"Tell me something, Raquel," Alen started, finishing his cigarette. "do you still have family? Friends?"

"Yeah, of course."

Alen took one last drag and threw the cigarette to the ground, stomping on it with his boot to put it out. "Then that's where our similarities end." he told her, then walked away without another word.

…...

"Hey! 'Bout time you caught up!" Veronica said, her hands on her hips and tapping her foot impatiently.

"I apologize." Alen said, fixing the metal plate on his black leather armor as he walked towards the impatient woman.

"Whoa I'm sorry? What did you say?" Veronica asked, clearly shocked.

"I uh... apologized?" Alen said, stopping in his tracks, confused.

"... That's what I thought you did... Anyway, take the lead, sir. I have no idea where to go in this place." she said.

Alen just shrugged and walked ahead, Veronica soon following behind.

…...

"Esh, this place reaks!" Veronica groaned.

"The corpses of men and ants may be to blame for that." Alen said, going over to the terminals that lined the walls, seeing if anything was on. Obviously they were not. Alen glanced over to the opening to the catwalks and a wave of insecurity washed over him, causing him to go stiff. He had no desire to go into that God forsaken place again, no desire to face those... those THINGS.

Veronica put her hand on his shoulder, jarring him from his thoughts. "You okay?" she asked.

Alen just stood there, staring at the opening. "... Yeah. Yeah I'm fine." he said uneasily. "Just a little... unsure is all."

"I can't say I blame you after what happened the last time you were here."

Alen put his hand to the bandage on his head without thinking. If there was something about being in this place before, it's certainly gotten worse.

"Are you sure you'll be all right?" Veronica asked.

"Yeah yeah, I'll be fine." Alen waved his hand dismissively. "Let's just go and get this over with." he told her then started walking.

"Do you even have a g-" Veronica was cut off when Alen pulled out his magnum. "Never mind, then." Veronica sighed.

"Keep your guard up, these bastards could be anywhere." Alen warned.

"There's blood all over the floor here. It looks too fresh to be the other corpse's blood." Veronica pointed out.

"Then it's mine. Let's go." he said and continued walking without her.

"Hey, wait up!" Veronica shouted and ran after him.

The all too familiar clanking of the catwalks under Alen's feet made him uncomfortable. Though Veronica's footsteps along side his offered a little support.

"There was an explosion here. I'm guessing you're to blame for that?" Veronica asked.

Alen nodded. "I had about thirty of the fuckers on my tail so I blasted them with a grenade. I most likely offed most of 'em but there's nests around so there's definitely more." he said, much to his dismay. He looked over the railing again but it was still dark as all hell down there. This made him sigh tiredly.

As they continued walking, the area grew darker and darker, causing Alen's security to plummet. Then, he put his arm out to stop Veronica from walking.

"What?" she asked.

"Look in front of you. Some of the catwalk is broken off so be careful." Alen told her. "I'll jump first to make sure it doesn't collapse under the weight." he said. Once again, he took a few steps back and ran, jumping then clearing the large gap then landing on the other side on his knee, causing him to grunt. It hurt like a bitch but he supposed it was better than landing on his arm. He stood up and turned to face Veronica's direction. "It's good, come on."

Veronica followed by example and took a few steps back, then running, then jumping. She cleared it, but barely. Unfortunately this didn't stop her from tripping. She almost fell into the darkness but was stopped when she felt Alen wrap his good arm around her waist to keep her from falling. It was extremely awkward for both of them.

"... Well _this _is awkward..." Alen said, not looking at her.

"Yep... you could uh... probably let me go now..." Veronica told him.

"Right..." Alen said, then took a few steps back to make sure she didn't fall then let her go. He turned quickly around. "N-now, let's continue, shall we?" he asked then begun walking once again, thanking everything that the darkness hid his red face.

…...

"I'm not going any further there unless you have a flashlight." Veronica said as they were standing on the base of the stairs.

Alen fiddled around with his Pip-Boy until the flashlight shone and illuminated a few feet in front of them. "Come on, let's turn on the generators, find my gun, kill some ants, and get the fuck out of here." he said, then began to walk back into the darkness that nearly took his life the first time.

"Where are these generators?" Veronica asked, walking uncomfortably close to Alen.

"I'm not sure, I didn't get further than right here." he told her, then pointed the light at the ground, where both his blood and green goo was splashed around their feet.

"Oh ew." Veronica twisted her face in disgust.

"Let's keep going." Alen said.

As they walked through the large building, a harsh silence had fallen between the two, so Alen began to think. It still confused him that Veronica was treating him like an old friend, and he had never met her until just today. Maybe he _did _know her, but the bullet he suffered in the head knocked a few things loose. He didn't dwell on this for long, however, his mind wandered off to what he was going to he. He thought back to his conversation with Benny before Alen killed him. Benny had mentioned something about "taking over New Vegas" which interested Alen greatly. How he would do it though, was completely beyond him, but it wouldn't stop him from finding out.

Whilst killing Benny with a machete was enjoyable, Alen wished he kept him alive a bit longer so he could have extracted more information from him about the subject. The Legion was getting impatient, though, so Alen had to cut the conversation short. No pun intended, of course. Oh how Alen despised the Legion. After every _terrible _thing they made him do just to get to Benny, Alen wanted to ring Caesar's neck himself. He _would _have too, but Caesar's petty little guards took all of Alen's weapons. Lucky bastard.

Perhaps that's what Alen should try and accomplish. Taking over New Vegas. It had a nice ring to it and it was certainly tempting. He would need to make himself known around the Mojave, either hated or loved, it didn't matter to him. The Boomers were a good start, even if a small one. Then maybe try the NCR. The Kings in Freeside were a already a shoe-in, all Alen had left to do was find King's dog a new brain, but that would be taken care of after Nellis. The Kings live right outside the Strip and _nothing _happens without their consent, so it was vital to kiss up to them. No matter how humiliating. NCR on the other hand, they have a strong presence in the Strip as well. While it wasn't vital to get their approval, it was certainly a good idea.

Not to mention the fact, they're a powerful military, and having them around would come in handy given the Legion ever attacks Vegas, which is more than likely.

"Hey," Veronica's voice tore Alen from his thoughts. "are those the generators?" she asked.

Alen shined his flashlight over to where she was pointing and sure enough, there they were. "Indeed they are. Let's go!" Alen said, then jogged over to the large yellow machines. "All right, I'll shine the light on the machine, and you pull the switch." he told Veronica.

"Right." she nodded and went to the first machine. Guided by the light from the Pip-Boy, she put the wires that were chewed apart together and tied them tight so they wouldn't unravel. She then pulled down the lever, and the machine roared and snarled with life. They did the same thing for the other three generators, and row after row of lights overhead flared with blinding light.

"All right! We got the generators to work, now let's deal with the nests and my gun and get the hell out of here!" Alen shouted over the roaring machines.

Veronica opened her mouth to say something, but before she could, a blood curdling screech sounded over all the noise, causing Alen and Veronica to scream and put their hands over their ears. Then the screeching stopped and they both removed their hands and looked around. What the hell was that all about? Their question was quickly answered, though, when they saw an entire army of pissed off ants running towards them.

"Well, looks like we're in for some fun." Alen smirked and pulled out his gun. "Let's go."


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

. . . . .

Bullets and body parts of various ants were flying, there was swearing, screaming, shouting, and gunfire. To anyone who would just walk into the large building, all the noise would cause the person to think there was a full out war going on under the catwalks.

Alen put his gun back in its holster, then took a granade from his belt. He pushed Veronica behind him, ripped the pin from the explosive with his teeth and threw it into the large group of advancing ants. The explosion killed most of them, though a remaing few survived. Alen retrieved his gun and began shooting at the monstrosities again. Veronica was going at the beasts with whatever the hell was on her wrist. Alen would have to ask about it later.

He kicked an ant right under its jaw when it got too close, its neck snapping on impact and it fell dead. Finally, the ants around them were either all dead, or they ran off, but those would be taken care of later. Alen holstered his gun once more and went towards the ant hill, Veronica following suit. Alen climbed to the top of the hill and pulled out a large pack of C4.

"Whoa whoa, what the hell is that?" Veronica asked.

"C4?" Alen said, his eyebrow raised. "The hell do you think it is? A ration pack?"

"I _know_ it's C4, you ass, I mean why the hell do you have it?"

Alen looked completely dumbfounded. "Are we _not_ destroying a giant ass ant hill?" he asked. "Loyal wouldn't give me the damn device he was working on so it's time for Plan B. I _like _Plan B, for it has a larger explosion and more fun." he grinned.

Veronica rolled her eyes as she watched Alen set the C4 on the ant mound, rather clumsily as he only had use of one arm.

"SON OF A BITCH. STAY UP, YOU SHIT." Alen shouted after the explosive fell for about the seventh time. It made Veronica laugh. After playing with it more, putting a bit of dirt around it to keep it there, Alen stood up and wiped his hand on his pants. "All right, it's in place, let's get back." he said, his voice suddenly calm. Veronica could swear he was the most bi-polar person she had ever met.

After they were at a safe distance, Alen took out the detonator and held it in front of him. He looked at Veronica and motioned his head to his hand. She took the hint and put her hand around his.

"3... 2... 1..." Alen counted down, then they both sqeezed the remote. Though... nothing happned.

"Hmph. Stupid thing's a dud." Veroinca huffed, then started up the mound again.

Alen rolled his eyes and followed, though he stopped in his tracks when he heard a steady beeping that was getting faster. Quickly realizing what it was, he broke into a sprint, ripped the sling from his arm, and ran up the mound.

"_GET DOWN!_" he shouted and tackled Veronica off the hill. As soon as they hit the ground, the C4 went off and caused bits and pieces of dirt, stone, concret, and ant flying into the air. The loud explosion made Alen's ears ring, and it was only when he could he again he realized he was screaming and groaning. When he hit the ground, him and Veroncia went opposite ways and he ended up landing right on his broken arm. About typical. "GAAAH! GOD FUCKING DAMN IT!" he screamed, clutching his elbow.

Veronica stood up after getting over her own shock, retrieved the duffle bag, rummaging through it until she found and pulled out a Super Stimpack. She made her way to the screaming, groaning Alen and took his arm.

"No! Not the Super Stimpack, I need that for- GAAAH HOLY FUCKING SHIT!" Alen screamed as Veronica shoved the large needle into his arm, most likely going into the bone. "WHY THE HELL WOULD YOU DO THAT?!" he yelled, then started searching through the bag, looking to see if there were any left. … With both arms...

"Well," she held up Alen's right arm. "this is why."

Alen's eyes widened. "Whoa what the fuck?"

"Do you even know what Super Stimepacks do? They were expiriments made in the labs that created regular Stimpacks, except the ingrediants in these was so powerful, it could heal broken limbs. However, they were extremely dangerous and highly addictive so they stopped making them about three months after the fifth incident. Why they didn't stop sooner is beyond me. But that's why they're so expensive." Veronica explained.

Alen had a less than impressed look on his face. "That, is absolute _bullshit_." he said.

"Then how can you move your arm?"

"Magic."

"Now _that's_ bullshit."

"SO IS THIS!" Alen said, pointing at his arm. "It makes absolutely NO sense!"

"It doesn't have to! At least your stupid arm is fixed." Veronica crossed her arms.

Alen rotated his shoulder to stretch his arm out, but a shooting pain caused him to let out a yelp. "OW. OW OKAY. MAYBE NOT." he winced.

"Well it takes a few hours to heal completely, you twit." Veronica said.

"And how in the fuck was I supposed to know that?" Alen growled through clenched teeth. He then stood up and started looking around for his .99 mm.

"Well, it's a good thing most of it was underground and the dirt absorbed most of the blast, or else we wouldn't be here right now." Veronica laughed. "Though it seems we took care of the ants. Now we just need to find your gun. And, looks like you got off with barely a scratch. Well, if you don't count the fact I shoved a giant needle into your arm."

"How _special_ for me." Alen growled.

"Hey don't get snippy with me." Veronica narrowed her eyes.

"I'm not getting 'snippy' with you!" Alen snapped.

"God, why _are_ you so damn angry all the time? Freaking lighten up already!"

"There's _nothing_ to 'lighten up' about."

"Oh really? You're alive."

"Barely."

"You're in good health."

"In physical sense, yes. Mental sense, no."

"You're not alone anymore."

"I'm _always_ alone. Everyone ends up leaving me in the end."

Veronica really didn't know what to say after that. "Look, all I know is-"

"Nothing." Alen interupted, his voice growing into a snarl.

"What?"

"You know _nothing._" Alen said turning around to face Veronica, who was now standing up. "Nothing of me, what I've done, what I've been through," he was now getting closer to the woman. "If you knew _anything_ of my past you would understand why I am the way I am! You say I need to _'lighten up'_ when you are completely ignorant to the SHIT that's swimming through my brain! All the emotional trauma, physical trauma, social trauma!

"How can I be happy when I have NOTHING to be happy about?! I have no home, no family, no friends, hell I don't even have one god damn cap to my name! So don't fucking stand here and tell me that I'm pissed off all the time! BECAUSE I FUCKING KNOW.

"Do you think I _like_ being this person? Being a person who is so god damned moody 24/7, who is a complete dick, who doesn't appritiate ANYTHING given to him? Because if you think I do, you're _dead_ wrong. I have no love for this fucked up world, but _I hate myself even more_. So THAT'S why I'm so 'god damned angry all the time!" he finished.

Veronica stayed silent.

Alen got out of her face, his own expression softening once he realized how worked up he had gotten. "That's exactly what I thought..." he sighed. He then turned around and a glaring light shined into his eye, causing him to wince. He turned his head a fraction and sure enough, there was his missing gun. He smirked slightly and walked over, picked it up, and placed it in its holster. "Let's just get out of here."

. . . . .

Veronica was stummped. What Alen had said stuck in the back mind like tape to a wall. _'I have no family, no friends...' _That was what got her the most. Surely he had _someone_ in his family he knew who was alive somewhere in the wastelands. Right?

The rather long walk back to Mother Pearl's was awkward to say the least.

"Hey..." Alen's voice was quiet, even timid. "Sorry for... snapping at you back there. It's just that what you brought up is just..." he paused, obviously having a difficult time. "It's a very delicate subject."

"I'm sorry I brought it up." Veronica said softly. "I hate to continue, but what exactly happened in your past?" she aksed carefully.

Alen hesitated for a moment. "Things I'm not ready to discus with someone that I just met. Can we just leave it at that?" he asked.

"Yeah..." Veronica said. Another silence fell between the two. Until, "Alen..."

"Hm?" he hummed in response.

"Whatever happened to you in your past, whatever made you like this, the way you are, it's over. It can't happen again. Even if it does, you won't be as affected by it..." she told him.

Alen chuckled. "That's where you're wrong."


	7. Chapter 7

_**Sorry for such the long wait for these lately, guys ^^'' But I'm FINALLY on summer vacation from school, so hopefully I'll be posting more often :D And this chapter is important, because a small part of Alen's past is leaked out :3 Yet Veronica still doesn't know. I've also been getting a few comments saying people don't like Alen's character. I'm hoping this will change once the story gets further in, because he's my favorite character I've ever created 3 **_

_**ALSO! "Nellis" now has a theme! If you wish to hear it, look it up c: "Satellite" By Rise Against**_

_**. . . . . .**_

Chapter Seven

. . . .

When Alen and Veronica got back to Pearl's barracks, the older woman was completely ecstatic.

"This is fantastic! The power is finally back on, the ants are taken care of, and we were able to retrieve the bodies from the building and give them proper burial! Alen, we simply cannot thank you enough!" Pearl exclaimed, her smile able to light the entire room. "Will you accept pay of any kind? You name it, and it's yours!"

Alen shrugged. "I won't say no to caps."

"Of course!" Pearl smiled. She walked over to the table by the couches and picked up a small velvet bag. "I do hope 100 caps is good enough, I haven't got much."

"100 caps is perfectly fine." Alen said, a small smile actually crossing his face. He took the bag handed to him and clipping it to his belt. "What else do you need me to do?" he asked.

"I do believe that's it for the day. Though now that the power is back, a problem should arise soon enough." Pearl laughed. "For now, just walk around, mingle, meet some of the residents." she told him.

"Good enough for me." he gave Pearl a half salute as he made his way to the door. "Just holler if ya need me, eh?"

. . . . .

When Veronica finally made her way outside after she finished talking to Pearl, she found Alen sitting on the stairs with the caps Pearl paid him with and he was counting them and putting them into two separate piles. "What are you-" Veronica was silenced when Alen shushed her. Did he _SERIOUSLY_ just shush her?

"42... 43... 44." Alen counted to himself.

Veronica merely watched him, intrigued for whatever reason. He was certainly an interesting individual.

"49... annnnd 50." he finally finished and handed one pile to Veronica. "Here."

"What's this for?" she asked.

Alen raised an eyebrow. "You're kidding, right? What do you think? It's your cut. You _did_ help after all."

"Huh..." Veronica scoffed and took the caps. "Last time I worked with someone, he kept all the money and rewards to himself and didn't bat an eyelash at me like a selfish jerk." she huffed and crossed her arms.

Alen shrugged. "Believe it or not, I'm not selfish with that kinda shit. Though if someone's tryin' to be cheap, that's a different story." he laughed a bit.

"Well thanks... I suppose." Veronica said.

Alen waved his hand dismissively. "Think nothing of it." he then looked at the Pip-Boy to check the condition of his arm. It was completely fine, and it kinda pissed him off. Pissed off because your arm's not broken. Imagine that. It angered him because he was so confused on how it was completely healed by ONE simple super stimpack. Veronica had explained it of course, but it STILL confused him. It was something right out of a storybook, and Alen didn't like that. "What the fuck..." he mumbled to himself. It didn't make any sense what so ever. God damn medical science. Alen never understood it.

"So, what do we do now? Pearl said to wait until morning because everyone's probably sleeping by now." Veronica said.

"After she _just_ said to go around and 'mingle'? Makes perfect sense." Alen sighed then started walking towards a flat spot in the ground.

"She's an older woman, Alen. Give her a break." Veronica said when she followed him.

"Suppose I must." he sighed again. When he found ground that was flat enough, he threw the duffel bag down to the ground, took out an old beat up blanket and lay it down. He took off his armor until he was wearing nothing but his underclothes. They were nothing but ripped up jeans and an old gray tank top. He lay down on the blanket and folded his arms behind his head. He pushed his hat to where it was covering his eyes.

Veronica was turned away from Alen, taking off a few pieces of armor as well, along with the device on her wrist. However when she turned around, she was stunned. "Holy crap!" she shouted.

Alen shot into a sitting position, sending his hat flying to his feet. "What, what?! Giant ants? Radscorpions?!" he quaked.

"No no! I'm just surprised, is all! You're ripped, man!"

"Oh." Alen rolled his eyes and grabbed his hat, laying back down. "What of it?"

"Nothing, just wondering how that's even possible."

Alen looked at her, completely befuddled. "I've been alone in the wastelands for sixteen years of my life?"

"That doesn't mean anything."

"I work out in my spare time?" Alen said. "I don't know what else you want me to say." he then put his hat back over his eyes.

"Seriously? You're going to sleep? Now?" Veronica asked.

"Fuck else to do. Plus, I'm tired." Alen shrugged.

Veronica sighed and sat down. They sat there in complete silence for a few minutes, and Veronica thought Alen fell asleep, but a sigh expelled from him and she knew he hadn't. So, she decided to get some answers out of him. About his past. She had a burning curiosity that refused to let up so she just HAD to know. Though, Alen was stubborn, even more so than she was, so she would have be a little bit... mean about it. But she decided to start out nicely.

"Hey, I've got a question for you." she told him.

"Shoot."

"You said something about being alone in the wastelands for sixteen years, is that true?"

"Yep."

"Oh... Wanna explain why?"

"Nope."

"Man of few words, huh?"

"Yep."

"Are you going to say more than those two words?"

"Nope."

Veronica sighed again. Time to get more aggressive. "Come on, why can't you just tell me?"

"Because I don't trust you enough."

"Oh that's nice."

"I've had a shitty life that's been getting worse lately. That's all you need to know."

"Oh I doubt it's worse than everyone else's."

"You can be ignorant if you wish."

"Everyone has a crappy life in the wastes. Yours doesn't make you special."

"I never _claimed_ to be 'special'." Alen growled, his ire growing. "I know everyone's life is shit, and that's why I never whine about mine, because no one gives a fuck."

She did...

"So then what's so shitty about your life, then? If it even is."

"You're working a _**wrong**_ fucking nerve right now." Alen snarled.

"Oh am I? You're the one lying about having a shitty life. You've been shot in the head, survived, got shot at with bombs by Nellis guards, survived, almost killed by giant ants, and once again, survived. So stop freaking ly-"

"I'M _NOT_ FUCKING LYING." Alen roared, taking Veronica by surprise. "Now stop fucking asking already!"

Before Veronica could say anything, Alen stood up, grabbed his gun and started walking towards the gates.

"Where the hell are you going?"

"Away from you for a couple of minutes. Or hours. I really don't give a shit."

. . .

"Hm? Oh, what the hell do you want, sav- UMPF!" a guard grunted when Alen pushed him aside and lost his footing and fell to the ground.

"Open the gate." Alen said.

"We don't take orders from a savage—"

"I'm _NOT_ going to fucking ask again!" Alen snapped.

The guards jumped at the sudden rage in the man's voice and the metal gate opened.

"I'll be back." he said, his voice back in a normal register. He heard the gate close behind him, but he didn't look back. He walked quite a ways from Nellis and he kept walking until he could no longer see the base. He eventually took to sitting against a rock.

It was cold as hell outside, but he really didn't care. He lay his head against the rock, closed his eyes, and let out a sigh. He didn't get it. Why the hell was Veronica trying so damned hard to know his past? He doesn't like talking about it, it brings up too many unplesant memories. Memories that he particually didn't want to revist.

There were so many questions he had about that woman. Who was she _really_? How did she know him so well? How did she know everything about his personality, when he was going to snap, when he was in a good mood, when he needed to get the hell away from someone before he punched them in the face. She had questions about him to, mainly about his past, which she wasn't ever going to find out, but with everything she already knows about him, he wouldn't be surprised if she did already know.

Then why would she be asking about it?

Though, the fact he was able to think clearly for a while didn't last long. Eventually, memories began pouring into his head the more he thought about it, but this time, he just let it happen. It was better than keeping inside, right?

His mind flashed to when he was just ten years old, playing in a large, barren field near his house with his dad, with his older brother sitting on the porch watching them. Laughing every once in a while. Then it flashed to when he was sitting with his three siblings, watching from a distance as wild dogs took down a wild brahmin, then when his older brother was teaching him how to fire a gun. His life was pretty damn good then... then radiation changed everything. His thoughts flashed to him sobbing over four graves, then to him leaving the house in the middle of the night, with nothing on but a black shirt, black pants, a fedora that was too big for his small head, and a .99 mm at his waist.

Ten years old... and he was forced to grow up at such a young age. Ten years old,

and completely alone.

He opened his eyes and aggressively wiped a tear from his face, and let his hand fall limp to the ground. He then took his gun off his waist and looked at it. The .99 mm he's had since he was ten. Veronica asked why it was so important to him, and he didn't know how to answer. How do you tell someone they're attached to a fucking _gun_ because it used to be his father's? And his hat, too. Both items belonged to him, and he had given them to Alen before he died. First his mom died, then his little sister, then little brother, then older brother... and his dad was last to go. His dad didn't get a grave because Alen was on his own at that point and there was no way he could have dug a grave AND put his father into it when he was so young and weak.

The only reason Alen didn't die from the radiation is because he wasn't there when everything went down. To this day he still doesn't know what happened.

_"__Everyone has a crappy life in the wastes. Yours doesn't make you special."_

Perhaps it doesn't, but that doesn't make it any less painful. Who else was left to wander the wastes at such a young age? Who else was shot in the head recently and lived? Wait... skratch that. Most likely a lot of people. That wasn't the point though. Nevertheless, Alen just sighed. He put his gun back to his waist and looked at the sky. If there was one good thing about the wastes, it was the stars. He didn't know the constellations worth a damn, but at least they were plesant to look at. A sudden wave of guilt washed over him then. He had been treating Veronica like shit and he hadn't been meaning to. She just liked to pull at his nerves, and he had been trying to control his anger more, but it didn't help when she kept poking at him.

"So how long do you plan to stay here and mope?"

Alen sighed. "Can't leave well enough alone, can you?"

"Just figured you might want this." Veronica said then help up his hat.

Alen's hand went to his head, and sure enough, he had forgotten his hat back at the base. Veroncia tossed it to him and he caught it, fixing it onto his head. "I doubt you came here just to give me my hat."

"I came to make sure you didn't fall asleep and freeze to death."

"I'm not going to fall asleep."

"Then why are your eyes closed?"

"Allergy season."

"That doesn't even make any sense."

"Doesn't have to."

"Just get up already." Veronica said and kicked his leg.

"Fine fine, Jesus." Alen sighed again and stood up. They both started to head back to Nellis, not exchanging another word with each other.

. . . . . . . .

To say Alen slept like shit would be an understatment. He barely slept at all, and when he saw the sun coming up, he became irritated and groaned. Though this was a commen occurance in the morning, so it wasn't like he was surprised. He got up from the blanket he was laying on, taking care not to wake Veronica, whom had decided to lay close to him when it got really cold, then went through his duffel bag. His reinforced leather armor had seen better days, and he figured it would do more harm than good. He pulled out a long trench coat that was folded up and had been tossed to the bottom of the duffel bag, forgotten. He slightly smiled at it, as it brought back some good memories. His good old Bounty Hunter Duster.

He put the tench coat next to him and continued to dig through the bag. He then pulled out tan pants, a gray throwover shirt, and black boats that had metal buckles over the ankle and calf. He took all of the items and went behind a building to change. It wouldn't really matter if anyone saw him. The worst they would see is his gray boxers. He'd always be a bit self-conscious about his body for reasons he's never understood. Probably because his chest is littered with scars. Nevertheless, he changed into his outfit rather quickly, and fastened his gun's holster around his waist then placed the .99 mm in its holster before putting on the coat . He even spruced the outfit up a bit. He rolled the right sleave of the coat a bit past his elbow, and the left one a bit before his other elbow. He then put on the brown glove that went past his wrist. He flicked the collar up so it hid his neck, and then buttoned the coat halfway down. He made sure that his pants were tucked into the boots as well before returning to the duffel bag and public eye.

He threw the clothes he was wearing before into the bag and zipped it closed. He stood up started to walk away from their little makeshift camp site and was fiddling with the gun at his side when he saw someone running towards him. It looked like a child... When they got closer, his guess was confirmed. It was a young girl wearing a Boomers jacket, she had short black hair that went a little bit past her ears, a few uneven strands hanging in her face, her eyes looked to be blue from what Alen could tell from how far he was. She was yelling and crying something he couldn't understand, but dispite that, he quickly made his way over to her and caught the child before she ran into him.

"Whoa! Hey, easy! What's wrong, sweetheart?" he asked in a soft, calm voice.

"That stupid joke stole Mister Cuddles!" the girl cired.

"Who's Mister Cuddles?"

"My teddy bear!"

"Who took him from you?"

"That stupid snot, Billy! He took my bear and won't give it back!" the girl whined and crossed her arm, pursing her lips in a pout.

"Where is he? I'll try talking to him." Alen told her. She then took his hand and began leading him towards the large field near the generator building.

"By the way, I'm Lindsay. What's your name?" Lindsay asked.

"Alen."

"That's a weird name."

"What's wrong with it?"

"It's weird."

"Thanks for the info." Alen sighed.

"I haven't seen you around here before. Are you sure you're allowed to be here?"

"Yes, I have permission stright from Mother Pearl."

"Do you live in the wastelands?"

"Yes."

"Are you and that lady married?"

"_God_ no."

"Why not?"

"Because I just met her yesterday."

"So?"

"Usually people get to know each other better before getting married."

"So get to know her."

"I'm trying, but I don't want to marry her."

"Why?"

_'Oh for the love of fuck.'_ Alen thought. "Because I'm not interested in that crap."

"Why?"

"You're killing me, kid."

"Why?"

Alen's free hand met his face.

"Look! There he is with _my_ teddy bear!" Linday said, pointing over at a small boy, sitting in a small patch of dead grass, playing with what Alen assumed to be Mister Cuddles. Alen walked over to the kid, whose name was apparently Billy, Lindsay's hand glued to his.

"Hey, is your name Billy?" Alen asked, letting go of the girl's hand and knelt in front of Billy. The kid then nodded. "Lindsay here told me that you took Mister Cuddles from her. Is that true?" he asked, his voice calm and sweet.

"Yeah, but she wasn't sharing!" Billy pouted.

"If it's her's then she doesn't have to. I'm sure if you asked, she would have let you play with him." Alen told him. When Billy looked unsure, Alen looked at Lindsay. "Would you have let him play with Mister Cuddles had he asked?" Lindsay nodded. "Problem solved. Now, give her the bear back, and ask if you can play with her."

Billy looked reluctant, but a reassuring nod from Alen comforted him. He gave Lindsay Mister Cuddles and looked embarassed and guilty.

"Now ask if you can play. And _nicely_."

"Can I play with Mister Cuddles with you?" Billy asked.

Lindsay, holding the bear close, giggled and nodded.

"Good." Alen said, then stood up. "Now play nice, you two."

"Thank you, Alen." Lindsay said sweetly.

Alen smiled warmly and ruffled her hair. "You're welcome, kiddo." Both kids went to playing and Alen turned around, spotting Veronica behind him with a know-it-all grin on her face. Ah fuck. "Shut up." Alen growled, walking past her, his face a bit red.

"I didn't know you were good with kids, is all." Veronica laughed when she caught up with him. "You are the _**last**_ person I'd expect to like 'em."

Alen shrugged. "I like kids, I just hate adults. A child's stupidity is excused because they don't know better. An adult's stupidity is _not_ excused, they're more experienced and should be smarter, therefore, if they're not, my cure for their stupidity is putting a bullet through their skull."

Veronica sighed. "Oh Alen Svay, you've the heart of a poet."

"Don't I though? Guess it's a hidden talent." Alen chuckled. Veronica shoved him as they walked, and he actually laughed. "Plus... I don't like seeing kids unhappy... I know how it feels, and it isn't a nice feeling..."

"What do you mean _you know_?" Veronica asked.

Alen stayed quiet.

"Alen?"

"N-nevermind. C'mon, we have things to do." Alen said, then walked a bit faster than her.

Veronica frowned. She knew whatever has happened to him wasn't good, because when he smiled at those kids, it's the first non-forced smiled she's seen him do. What happened to that poor man?


End file.
